Steamy Romance / Contemporary Romance- He needed her connections, she needed a husband… what started as convenience could ignite an unexpected fire. Everly Stone, at the pinnacle of a worldwide media industry, commands her empire with unmatched precision and an unyielding resolve never to marry. But her family’s legacy hangs by a thread-one that requires her to secure a husband and produce an heir.. Faced with this unavoidable demand, she crafts a plan to meet the terms without sacrificing her independence. Enter Knox Vaughn, the dashing real estate mogul with eyes on a political future, who finds the very connections he needs within Everly’s influential circle. He proposes a mutually beneficial deal: a fake engagement that will elevate his social status and fulfill her contractual obligations. It’s simple, strategic, and entirely devoid of emotion-until their passion blurs the boundaries of their agreement. As they tread the glittering minefield of New York’s elite, Knox finds himself more than just enthralled by Everly’s steely beauty and sharp wit. He’s captivated by her resilience and drawn deeply into the complexity of her world. Now, Knox is determined not just to maintain their charade but to make it a reality, challenging Everly’s notions of love and partnership. She planned to guard her heart, he planned to use her name…but plans change when faced with the undeniable. Everly, crafted from self-reliance and skepticism, never intended to let her guard down. Knox, with his smooth charm and hidden , never expected to want more than a transactional relationship. Hidden aspirations as their initial arrangement spirals into something neither predicted, they must decide if what they have is merely a facade or the beginning of a love story neither saw coming.